It Just Comes Natural
I play the piano. I learned as a young girl by listening to the radio and picking out the songs on an old upright piano. That piano was in my parent’s bedroom for the longest time. When we moved, it was on the side porch of our rental home.
I learned enough about how to read music to pick out the songs and got better and better at it as time went on. Since I loved going to church and singing there, I first learned how to sight read from a hymnal. Then I took lessons for awhile for organ and learned how to add pedals to the music. To this day I can play and still don’t even know what notes I’m playing. I figured long ago it wasn’t important to know what the notes were; just hearing the sweet sound was enough for me.
Though I can still read music today, I am best at listening to music and picking it out on the full size electronic piano keyboard at my home – just like in the old days.
It just comes natural to me.
George Strait sings a song “It Just Comes Natural.†He talks a great deal about love in this song, but also mentions some simple things that just make the world turn and life move along.
It reminds me of the thought that we all have something to give to this world that comes natural to us.
How about you? What comes natural to you? What are you good at? What’s your gift?
Since I’m older now and, hopefully wiser, I recognize many talents and gifts others have developed over time. People are always discovering and rediscovering talents if they allow themselves to.
It’s like when children are very young and they all think they are good at drawing, good at playing ball, good at playing the piano, good at speaking. They are convinced by themselves and others that they are good at the things they do. It’s a shame that somewhere between there and adulthood, we “discover†that we aren’t as good as someone else and, bam, we all of a sudden believe we can’t do something well enough to keep doing it.
I do find today, though, I discover new talents if I allow myself to. I get bored quickly, so learning new talents is fun for me.
I realized several years ago that I had a knack for designing and making jewelry. I gathered all sorts of beads and made many interesting and unique necklaces, bracelets and earrings. After giving them for Christmas presents, someone asked if I could teach them to make jewelry. That turned into many fun sessions where I taught folks to make their own. One of the families has a three year tradition now of coming over after Thanksgiving and designing their own presents.
I usually ask new acquaintances what they enjoy doing and find that many people talk easily about their talents. There are those, on occasion, that say they really don’t do much of anything…that they are not really talented at anything.
That is sad to me.
After all, everyone is capable of learning and doing new things. It’s by choice that most of us don’t try. It’s also by choice that we think we are no good at things when we could be if we chose to learn from mistakes.
For those of you who think there is nothing that “just comes natural†to you, consider these thoughts:
1. Everyone can be passionate about something. I know someone who has a remarkable knowledge of cowboy history and guns of that period. He is passionate about that era and it shows up as a gleam in his eyes each time he talks about it. I think it would be wonderful if, when he retired, he would go around the country talking to young people about the cowboy era and sharing that knowledge. He even dresses the part and seems to feel more comfortable in cowboy clothes than modern day clothing.
2. A gift of listening can be a gift well shared with others. I have had the good fortune in my life to know many good listeners. I have developed that skill, but there are those I know who have a natural gift of listening to others with a wisdom well beyond mine. As I consider those people in my life who are good listeners, I consider myself lucky that my mother is one of those people. What a gift a mother with an understanding ear can give to a child or adult. It is those people in our lives where it “just comes natural†that can mean so much as we mature.
3. Doing what comes natural can cause others to become as passionate about things as you are. It’s the sparkle in your eye about something you love to do that catches other people’s attention. Often, it will encourage others to model the same behavior or passion you have. I think of the second grade class I visit with every two weeks. The teacher has an infection love of learning and the children have caught that from her. It shows in her work and theirs. What a gift, to bestow that kind of love learning to the young minds in her class.
4. Encourage young people to become passionate about healthy pastimes. It is often at the early ages of life that one begins to develop a passion for things. What a gift to be an encourager for young people to find their passion in life at an early age and expand that knowledge as they grow into adulthood. It can even develop into a career path if what comes natural turns into a job possibility. While all of us can’t be pro football players or ballerinas, we can develop transferable skills from our passion that can easily turn into workplace successes.
5. Cultivating a hobby you learned as a youth can sometimes turn into a career as you grow into adulthood. My son, Pierce, had a camera in his hand since he was four. He became so good at visual perception and filming over the years that he decided he wanted to do that for a living. He is very good at what he does and has a natural skill many do not have. He said he’d live in a box to do this kind of work. Now that’s passion. it’s such a natural part of his life that he is quite satisfied with the rigorous and grueling hours it takes to be good at film making.
My wish for you today is that you find something you enjoy and turn it into something that “just comes natural.†It will be those things that carry you through times when you need that little extra inspiration to get you going. Yes, doing what comes natural is fun and it might just inspire others to make a different in the world as well.
~ Joellen